When executives are sent by their corporations on long business trips they must relocate for several weeks to several months, usually to a major city. Traditionally, the companies have made arrangements with extended stay hotels at rates reserved for corporations. Some examples of upscale extended stay hotels chains are Hilton’s Homewood Suites, Marriott’s Residence Inn, and Intercontinental’s Staybridge Suites. Like all hotels there is no choice in the style of the unit or the furnishings so the guests must adapt to the environment.

The advent of the corporate housing industry in the mid-nineties made a variety of units available for the traveler. The corporate housing industry involves renting out vacant apartments, houses, lofts, and condos when the unit owners listing them are either landlords, property management firms, or individual owners who do not occupy the suites for part of the year (or at all). Besides variety, there are many other reasons that a guest might choose the corporate housing: the cost is about 20% less than extended stay hotels on average, there is more privacy, and there are more locations available in urban downtown areas.

Corporate housing is highly customizable, so if you are traveling with children and pets you can settle right in just as if you were at home. Playpens and highchairs can be arranged. There are laundry facilities within the units unlike extended stay hotels. Sometimes there is access to tennis courts, sometimes basketball courts; in any case there are more exercise facilities than the hotels. The hotel bill is subject to taxes, while guests who stay over thirty days in corporate housing are not taxed on the rent.

Due to the growing number of corporate suite providers it is easy to find a website to scan through the available listings and the wide variety of decor. If a company has to send a manager to open an office in a city like Toronto for instance, the secretary or executive can enter “corporate suites Toronto” into a search bar and browse through the websites, enter the dates that apply, and then scan the vacant units and locations to decide. The reservation can be made with a quick phone call, and the unit is ready and waiting for the satisfied executive guest.

The prices of furnished corporate suites are relatively low, about $500 to $650 per week for a one-bedroom and $700 to $800 per week for a two-bedroom unit. A three bedroom for a month could be as much as $3500 and as low as $2800. If price is the only issue when finding a place to stay there is a third alternative: the budget extended stay hotel, which is not at all luxurious but may be all that some businesses can afford. One thing they have in common with upscale extended stay hotels is that the guests must have corporate ties, whereas corporate rental units are open to anybody who can afford them, such as sports stars and entertainers. When you consider the amenities and the extra floor space of corporate housing, there can be only one conclusion: a corporate suite is an affordable home away from home.

Pat Boardman is an SEO consultant writing in respect to Canada Suites Toronto who provide Toronto Ontario short-term lodgings for travelers requiring condos and apartment suites.